The head of a Hartford insurance firm under state investigation for allegedly failing to pay $670,000 in premiums to two of the city's insurance carriers is also the subject of a probe into allegations that he owes wages to employees of a now-defunct Middletown restaurant.

The state Department of Labor is investigating two complaints filed against Us Restaurant and Lounge on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3. Both are wage enforcement cases and the investigations are ongoing, labor department spokeswoman Nancy Steffens said.

Earl O'Garro Jr., 30, opened the Main Street eatery with his wife, Kendra, in March. Us Restaurant closed in September and has been served with an eviction notice for failure to pay rent, according to court records.

O'Garro has also defaulted on a state loan for Hybrid Insurance Group and his Marlborough home faces foreclosure, state and town records indicate.

Reached at the family's home Tuesday, Kendra O'Garro said she had no information about the business or payments to Us employees. She said that her husband has not shared any recent details about the business or investigations. Efforts to reach Earl O'Garro were unsuccessful. His wife said that he was not home and she did not know when he would return.

O'Garro's attorney, Corey Brinson, said O'Garro and his wife are cooperating with the state to see that employees are paid.

O'Garro also owns and operates Hybrid — a company under investigation by the state's insurance department for allegedly failing to pay $670,000 in premiums to Starr Indemnity and National Casualty, excess liability insurers for the city of Hartford.

Four separate complaints have been filed with the state against Hybrid dating back to the summer, said Anne Melissa Dowling, Connecticut's deputy insurance commissioner.

In addition, the state Department of Economic and Community Development notified O'Garro last week that Hybrid defaulted on a $100,000 state loan. Hybrid received the loan and a $26,320 matching grant through Connecticut's Small Business Express program in March 2012 to help fund the firm's relocation from Windsor to a Hartford building owned by the family of City Treasurer Adam Cloud.

Cloud's relationship with Hybrid has been questioned. Hartford officials have called for an investigation by the city's internal audit commission into a possible conflict of interest.

Hybrid is two months behind on loan payments and owes the state $105,792.46, including $73,858 for the loan principal and $26,320 to repay the state grant, according to a state spokesman and a default letter that Catherine Smith, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, sent to O'Garro last week.

At Us Restaurant, a "fusion-soul" eatery that served Southern-style food with Caribbean influences, a notice on the door Tuesday stated that Us was "temporarily closed."

Alicia Rivera, the restaurant's general manager, who was responsible for overseeing payroll, said Tuesday that there are no indications Us will reopen. As of this week, she said, O'Garro still owed a dozen employees a total of $4,143 for several weeks' worth of wages.

Three employees told The Courant they had not been paid for work. Lydia Spencer, who bussed tables at the Middletown restaurant, said she is owed two paychecks. Bartender Mike Lozowski said he is owed money for six shifts — about $300. Shadi "Matt" Halabi, who worked as a waiter, said he is owed a paycheck, probably around $100.

Steffens said that the labor department's investigations are ongoing and that she could not elaborate on specific details about the complaints.

Brinson said Tuesday that O'Garro and his wife are working to pay more than $3,000 due to his employees. He declined to comment when asked whether the restaurant would reopen.

"Earl and Kendra are cooperating with the Department of Labor to see that employees are paid in a timely fashion," Brinson said. "Many restaurants are unsuccessful in their first year. In winding down that business, administratively, somehow those employees were not paid. It was not intentional. They are working to resolve that with the Department of Labor."

Rivera said that several of the restaurant's vendors were not paid for their services.

An invoice dated Aug. 29 from Reinhart Foodservice shows that Us Restaurant owed the food vendor $20,307, including $16,750 in past due payments since July. A copy of the invoice was provided to The Courant.

At its peak, the restaurant employed between 25 and 30 people. Some of them had started work shortly before the establishment closed, Rivera said. O'Garro told employees the business would reopen in October.

The allegations from Us workers add to a list of complaints against O'Garro, a Windsor native who formed Hybrid in 2010.